Good Parking At Trailhead

John, Ralph and myself (Eric) made the trek to the summit of St Marks. The hike is very popular with 200+ on the trail on a nice week-end. The first half of the trail is well groomed and easy walking. The trail improvement stops about half way and from there on the trail is easy to follow but it is very root infested and so one needs to be constantly watching where one steps.

Directions: Take Sunset Falls Road east of Battleground to Sunset Campground. Turn right and cross the East Fork Lewis River on FS Road 41. Stay on FS 41 for approximately 9 miles to a large parking area atop McKinley Ridge. This is NOT the summit.

Poor McDonald, like Rodney Dangerfield, it gets no respect. And honestly, that’s not fair. Sitting in line with the heralded Mt. Ashland (W7O/CS-019), McDonald is easy to access, has a great operating position, and spectacular views of the Siskiyous in all directions. If you are activating Mt. Ashland, you absolutely must make it a double if the roads are open and clear.

Peak 3700 is a bit of an adventure, but certainly do-able summit near Detroit, Oregon. You'll follow a long-abandoned logging road and head cross-country for the final ascent into the Activation Zone. There are no views and the final ascent is very rough, but you get to enjoy the quiet of a second-growth forest.

Zero Butte is just west of Condon, Oregon and is an easy drive-up summit. Take Highway 206 4.5 miles west from Condon and turn (left) west onto Richmond Road. Continue 1.5 miles to an unmarked dirt road heading off to the left. This is about where the unexpected subdivision ends and where what looks like a former military installation begins. The dirt road was easily passible in a passenger car for the 0.9 miles to a fence and a gate where the high point is located.

Eight Dollar Mountain lives up to it’s notable name, somewhat unusual in an area that has may nameless mountains. On a topo map it looks like one of the nearby Cascades, a very definite cone not attached to the nearby hills, but it’s doesn’t share their volcanic origins. I was surprised it had never been activated as there is a (very steep) jeep track to the research station on the summit, and the trailhead is just a mile or so from highway 199.

An easily accessed summit, that's easily access from the Nestucca River byway. A bunch of different roads will lead you into the area from nearly any direction. Probably the easiest is up Fan Creek Road from the Nestucca River. It is near enough to Boudary road to access several other nearby summits along the same ridgeline.